Sambucus cerulea

Blue elderberry (Sambucus cerulea) is a large, fast-growing deciduous shrub or small tree featuring showy clusters of creamy-white flowers that mature into large clusters of blue-black berries.

This shrub is a great addition to your wildlife garden. Many birds eat the berries, and butterflies visit the flowers for nectar. The plant provides food for the young of spring azure butterflies and various moths. Native solitary bees shelter and lay their eggs in the hollow twigs. Dead elder wood is also the preferred habitat of the mushroom Auricularia auricula-judae, also known as Judas’ ear fungus or wood ear fungus.

Blue elderberry can get quite tall, reaching up to 15 feet in height. Plant it in sun to part shade in well drained soils.

Malus fusca

Pacific crabapple (Malus fusca) is found in Western Oregon and north through Washington State into Canada and Alaska. It prefers moist woods and is often found at the edges of wetlands. It’s the perfect tree for a wet corner of the garden.

In spring, crabapples bloom with fragrant clusters of pinkish-white blossoms. By mid-summer, 3/4″ long fruits appear. The crabapples turn yellow to reddish in the fall, and often hang on the tree all winter, providing both visual interest and food for wildlife. The leaves of this showy tree also turn orange and bright red in autumn, binging lovely fall color to any garden.

The flowers attract large numbers of native bees including mason bees and bumblebees, and butterflies lay their eggs on the leaves. The fruits are a favorite of birds and small mammals, and the dense foliage provides both food and cover for wildlife.

Pacific crabapple grows best in full sun and moist to wet soils. Plant it with other wet-loving natives such as serviceberry, red osier dogwood, and Pacific ninebark for year-round color and wildlife habitat!

Acer circinatum

Vine maple (Acer circinatum) commonly grows as a large open shrub or small tree reaching 10-25 feet tall. It typically grows in the shady forest understory but is sometimes found out in the open. Like many plants, it typically gets taller in the shade and stays more compact in the sun.

Like all maples, the branches and leaves grow in pairs off the stem, known as “opposite branching.” Leaves are 3-14 cm long and broad, and thinly hairy on the underside. They are palmately lobed with 7-11 lobes, which are pointed with coarsely toothed margins. The flowers make a small but dramatic show in spring, blooming a bright red and whitish-green from May – June. The fruit is a two-seeded winged fruit called a samara, starting green then turning reddish-brown as they ripen. The leaves turn bright yellow to orange-red in fall and provide some of our most vivid native fall color.

Vine maples are important trees for wildlife. They provide nesting sites and cover for many birds and mammals. Vireos weave basket-like nests that hang in the forks of the branches. Birds use the seed stalks and leaves for nest building. Squirrels, chipmunks and birds eat the seeds, and the caterpillars of the brown tissue moth and Polyphemus moth forage on the leaves.

Vine maple grows best in part shade and moist soils. It can live out in the open but exposed leaves may burn and turn reddish in the afternoon sun. This is a beautiful specimen plant for a shady corner, or a tall screen to soften the side of a house. Pair it with snowberry and ferns for year-round interest.

Cornus sericea

Red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) is a medium to tall deciduous shrub. It can grow 6-15 feet tall and 5-10 feet wide depending on site conditions, and spreads to form dense thickets. It is attractive year round with red winter twigs (especially in sunny sites), creamy-white flower clusters, red to purple fall color, and bluish-green to white fruits.

This shrub is excellent for wildlife. Painted lady butterflies visit the flowers for nectar, and spring azure butterflies lay their eggs on the newly developing leaves and buds. Dozens of species of birds and mammals rely on it for food year-round, eating the new shoots in the spring, berries in summer and fall, and twigs through the winter. Birds take cover and nest in the shrubs, and even some amphibians lay more eggs in wetlands with red osier dogwoods than without.

Cuttings readily root, and it is an excellent shrub for improving the health of stream banks and wetlands. In the wild, it commonly grows in wetlands and other habitats with damp soil.